Only My Skill Tooltip Is Strange

Chapter 78

A list of equipment appeared in my mind.
All of it was A-rank.

There were occasionally some B-rank items as well.

‘There aren’t many items.’

I thought I would spend quite a bit of time deliberating, but there weren’t that many options after all.

‘The performance is not bad.’

It’s A-rank, after all.
It’s not easy to find this kind of equipment anywhere else.

Honestly, could I find something better than this on the upper floors?
It was reliable enough to make me question that.

‘I can take up to three of these?’

There’s no limit to the number of attempts.
Unless I get eliminated in the mission and my information gets reported to the ‘police station,’ that is.

‘For now, I’ll avoid the artifact.’

If I chose an artifact, I wouldn’t even know what could happen.
I’d be furious if the Illusory Book devoured it again, and I couldn’t buy it back.

I do agree that the Illusory Book needs to be leveled up eventually, but it’s not urgent right now.

‘Armor.’

I looked through the armor instead of the weapons.
Right now, survival was more important to me than offense.

When I can’t kill an opponent in one blow, when I encounter someone who can withstand my skills,
it’s honestly too dangerous.

To remove the variable, I decided to go with armor.

‘Artifacts…’

The reward itself was an A-rank artifact.
The background of the 5th floor and the fact that it was similar to the modern world I knew made me suspicious at first.

‘I didn’t expect to see familiar names.’

But there were also completely different names.
Even if the history was similar, it didn’t seem like the names of the great people were always the same.

[Chungmugong's Wae Myultae Sword (Blue)][A]

One artifact caught my eye.
As a Korean, I couldn’t just pass by it.

‘Wae Myultae Sword?’

Just hearing the name, I could tell its purpose.

‘But didn’t Admiral Yi Sun-sin only command naval battles?’

He was a general.
He probably wouldn’t have participated in hand-to-hand combat unless absolutely necessary.

[Chungmugong's Wae Myultae Sword (Blue)][A]
Type: Taedo (Sword)
Stats?
?Attack: ?69?
?Durability: 150/150?
Options?
?Cleaving Strike Lv.7?
?Protector of Joseon Lv.6?
?Automatic Restoration Lv.5?

The attack power is decent.
Most A-rank weapons have similar stats.

What’s important are the options.

‘Two damage amplification options.’

Since it’s blue in color, there aren’t many options, but the levels of the options were high, which guaranteed its quality.

[Cleaving Strike Lv.7]
When performing a slashing attack, physical damage ?35%.

The weapon’s options weren’t affected by the tooltip error.
I knew this from when I first acquired the equipment.

‘Is it not treated as a skill?’

It seems to be closer to the weapon’s stats.
In contrast, the options for artifacts are treated as skills, not stats.

‘But artifacts are devoured by the Illusory Book.’

[Protector of Joseon Lv.6]
When worn by a Joseon person, all stats ?6.

Automatic Restoration gradually recovers durability over time.
It’s a good option that prevents equipment from breaking if I take breaks in between.

‘...What I need right now is armor.’

I don’t particularly need weapons.

I looked through the armor.
All of them seemed uncomfortable.

‘This isn’t easy.’

It was hard to make a decision.

Just then, someone appeared.
A person I’d never seen before in the empty room.

I could immediately tell he was an administrator.

“Not bad for a new player.”

The administrator was wearing a police uniform.
It was identical to the uniform worn by the police faction players.

‘A typical detective look.’

He looked the part.
With a neatly groomed beard, sharp eyes, and a harsh-looking impression.

If this man were to suddenly show his ID and ask me to step aside to talk for a moment, I’d instinctively turn around and run, even if I hadn’t done anything wrong.

“I thought it would take a while, so I came by.”

He’s speaking informally right off the bat.

But I couldn’t say anything.
The man in front of me was a transcendent, the strongest kind of player, and I was just a climber, a weakling.

“What kind of equipment do you want? Just tell me, I’ll find it for you.”
“Is that really a feature?”
“It is. But I haven’t granted you the authority to access it. If you start searching carelessly, it’ll burden the floor.”
“......”

How can I be sure the equipment you’re showing me is the best?
A suspicious thought crossed my mind.

It seemed like the man read my thoughts and chuckled.

“The A-rank equipment given as rewards on the 5th floor? It’s pretty much the same stuff. At best, it’ll get you to the 20th floor. Do you think I’d feed newbie players equipment like that? Do transcendent players seem so insignificant to you?”
“......”
“Ah, there are famous transcendent players on the lower floors. A ridiculously light dragon.”

Blinky seemed to be famous everywhere.
Everyone knew who he was.

“Don’t worry. I won’t mess with the rewards. I’ll recommend the most useful reward for you.”
“...Really?”
“Yeah. That’s how you’ll work harder on missions, right? You’re not going to just take this reward and go up right away, are you?”

I wasn’t planning to go up until I’ve used up my stack.
Even if they told me to go up, I wouldn’t.

If I can milk it, I’ll milk it.

“Everyone who chooses the thief faction has a desire to get stronger. No one is satisfied with just one time.”
“I understand.”

Elise, King of Thieves, the Great Mage.
They must have a clear record by now.
They must have earned the qualification to go to the 6th floor long ago.

But I stayed and held out.
There’s still something I can gain from the 5th floor.

‘Even if the A-rank equipment from here only lasts up to the 20th floor... honestly, it’s better than nothing.’

I told the man what I wanted.

“Armor... equipment? Or artifacts?”
“I want armor.”
“Honestly, let me advise you. Armor isn’t as efficient as artifacts. You know that artifacts let you use skills regardless of slots.”

I understood what he meant.

‘Simply increasing durability isn’t as efficient as boosting attack power.’

Health stats include both vitality and durability.
But the durability of armor is just durability.

The reason I increase my health is not to boost durability, but to gain more vitality above a certain threshold.

‘I know. I know.’

The Illusory Book.
What am I supposed to do when this bastard devours artifacts?

“Let me show you first. Starting with artifacts.”

A list appeared.
Each artifact was overwhelming in terms of performance.

‘The stats themselves are definitely lower.’

When it comes to durability, artifacts can’t compete with equipment.
But artifacts had skills that equipment didn’t.

“You must have noticed it while coming up. Elemental damage, spell damage, and the danger of crowd control.”
“......”

I nodded.
I wholeheartedly agreed.

‘When the weak band together, even the strongest can be brought down.’

This didn’t happen on the 1st floor.
No one had adapted to the Soul System yet.

But not anymore.
The relatively weaker players have adapted to the Soul System, and they know how to beat the strong.

“Especially the toughness option. It’s hard to find anywhere else. I’m advising you because we’re both Korean.”
“...You’re Korean?”
“Chungmugong’s Wae Myultae Sword. I saw you thinking about it, and I knew you were Korean. Of course, the dimensions might be different.”

The man’s body slightly floated.
I immediately realized he was a flight-type psychic.

‘Illusory Book. If you’re listening, respond. Can I take the artifact?’

The Illusory Book had often manipulated my information without my consent.
Every time it happened, I wondered if this thing had a mind of its own.

So I occasionally ask it.
There’s never a reply, but...

[‘The Illusory Book’ devours ‘White Dragon Heart’.]

“!”

[The Illusory Book is growing.]
[‘Devour Lv.2’ has leveled up to ‘Devour Lv.3’.]

The message I saw before appeared again.
I was confused for a moment...

‘Considering the timing, this must be a response from the Illusory Book.’

Why did it send this message?

‘It doesn’t consume ongoing artifacts.’

If this was something the Illusory Book chose not to devour on its own,
Then why?

Did it not devour it, on purpose?

I recalled the devouring option.
Every time the Illusory Book devours an artifact, it raises intelligence and wisdom stats.

Consuming F-rank artifacts like this could be incredibly overpowered.
When I first obtained the Illusory Book, I had the same thought—tricks.

But I soon realized it was impossible.

‘Ah!’

A lightning bolt struck my mind.
The Illusory Book reminded me of something I had forgotten.

‘So I can take artifacts that are significantly worse than the Dragon Heart?!’

There must be a reason it sent that message during the Dragon Heart absorption.
If there’s a reason, it means the Illusory Book is drawing a line.

‘It’s a declaration to devour something better than this.’

You insane pig.

[‘The Illusory Book’ devours ‘Hermes’ Shoes’.]

‘Hermes’ Shoes’ were artifacts with toughness options, which the administrator had shown me.
The Illusory Book was threatening me, saying it would devour them.

‘Whoa, whoa. Let’s calm down.’
[‘The Illusory Book’ devours ‘Hermes’ Shoes’.]
‘Okay. You’re not a pig. It was your rightful claim.’

The Illusory Book stopped sending messages.
It seems to agree with the idea that it had a rightful claim.

“You’re thinking for a long time. I’m glad I came. If I hadn’t, it would have taken you all day.”
“…It’s better to choose carefully for the future.”
“Yeah. That’s true. So, have you made your decision?”

I nodded.
There wasn’t a better artifact than Hermes' Shoes.

The Illusory Book gave me its blessing.

[Hermes' Shoes][B]
Type: Artifact
Stats?
?Agility: ?5?
?Durability: 50/50?
Options?
?Thief’s Footsteps Lv.1?
Reduces ‘Slow’ effect by 200%.
?Messenger’s Footsteps Lv.1?
Reduces all ‘Status Ailments’ by 52%.

The tooltip error inflated the numbers about 10 times.

It just makes me laugh every time I see it.

“Finally made your choice?”

The administrator opened a portal.
A portal connected to the city.

I put on the shoes and stepped through the portal.
My footsteps felt light.

Whoo-oom—.
Whoo-oom—.

As soon as I arrived in the city, my smartphone vibrated.

The thief faction’s community.
It was noisy there.

[All new players, gather at the ‘Playdance’ club ? King of Thieves]